Megaphone.



r. H. TOMLIN.

MEGAPHONE.

APPLICATION FILED .25. ms.

Patented Nov), 1915.

FRANCIS H. TOMLIN, OF HADDONFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

MEGAPBONE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

Application filed March 25 1915. Serial No. 16,985.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANCIS H. ToMLrN,a I

citizen of the United States, residing at Haddonfield, in the county ofCamden and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Megaphones, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved megaphone or othersimilarly shaped article formed of a previously folded sheet of paper inwhich the various parts of the article are formed and arrangedrelatively to each other so that the paper forming the megaphone mayhave a previously folded portion extending longitudinally of themegaphone and so that the megaphone, when formed, will retain a roundform, notwithstanding the presence of the said folded portion; and afurther object of my invention is to provide a novel means for holdinthe meeting edge portions of the paper forming the megaphone together.

My invented device consists of the elements and the novel combinationsof them and the novel construction and arrangement of the partshereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention: Figure 1 is aside view of a megaphone or similarly shaped article constructed inaccordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section thereof online 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view of the folded sheet of paper fromwhich the megaphone is made. Fig. 1 is a section of the folded sheet, online 4:4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5' is a View of the sheet of paper unfolded.

Referring to the drawings, the megaphone or other article 3 is formed ofa single sheet of paper or blank 5, shaped as shown in Fig. 5. The twoedge portions 6 and 7 of the paper blank 5 are provided with tongues andslots 8 and 9, respectively,

which are arranged to come into registry with each other when the edgeportions 6 and 7 are brought together, as will be hereinafter explained.Each tongue 8 includes two projections 10 which extend laterally fromopposite sides of the body of the tongue, and each tongue 8 is connectedat its base 11 to the body of the edge portion 6.

One half of the paper blank 5 is folded over on the other half thereof,on the line 12, producing the folded blank shown in Figs. 3 and 4, andthus materially reducing the size of the blank for convenience inpacking and carryin it about, and producmg the longitudina ly extendingfold 13. When the blank 5 is thus folded on the line 12, the materialforming the outer wall 14 of the fold is stretched or broken orstretched in some places and broken in other places, while the materialforming the inner wall 15 of the fold 13 is buckled and is not stretchedor broken; therefore, if the folded blank shown in Figs. 3 and 4' befirst opened gether as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, with the innerunstretched and unbroken wall 15 of the fold 13 on the exterior of thearticle thus formed the paper will assume and retain the round taperingform shown in Figs. 1 and 2 unaffected by the longitudinal fold 13 inthe paper blank, due to the tendency to stretch all parts of the outerface of the paper blank in so forming the said article. When the articleor megaphone shown in Figs. 1 and-2 is formed from the blank 5, the edgeportion 7 is first lapped over the edge portion 6 and inserted betweenthe main body of the edgeportion 6 and the tongues 8 cut therefrom. Thefree ends of the tongues 8 and the projections 10 thereof are theninserted into the slots 9 in which they are retained by the projections10 engaging the walls of the slots 9. When the tongues 8 are thusinserted into the slots 9 one wall of each slot 9 is forced inwardly andthe other Wall thereof isforced outwardly, and, after the insertion ofthe tongues 8 the two walls of each slot 9 tend to assume their normalcondition opposite to each other and thus force the projections 10inwardly and into a position to cause them to engage the opposing wallsof the slots 9, as the paper blank tends to unroll or assume its normalflat condition. Thus the two edge portions 6 and 7 are firmly andcompactly held together in the condition shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

I claim:

A substantially round, hollow article formed of a previously foldedsheet of apes In testiinon .whereof I afiix my signature i111 whichlthefohll1 eiteiilds longitlfldina iy hof in presence 0 two witnesses.

teartice inwic teinside aceo to fold forms a part ofthe outside face ofthe v FRANCIS F' article, and in which edge portions of said Witnesses:

sheet extending longitudinally of the anti A. V. GRQUPE cle are securedtogether. S. I.

